Brian Slodysko/TribLocal reporter
Students who wear short shorts, spaghetti-strap tank tops or let their underwear peek out from the top of their pants are being targeted by school administrators at Downers Grove South High School in a new crackdown on school dress rules.
According to Principal Stephan Bild, administrators and faculty are putting “special effort” into cracking down on all students who are wearing clothing that does not cover the shoulders or extend down to mid thigh, men included. He said the proactive approach taken by school officials is merely an effort to enforce rules already outlined in the school’s handbook.
He couldn’t say how many students had been told to get some less revealing clothing Friday, other than “quite a few.”
“We’re asking young men to pull their pants up so we don’t see their underwear,” Bild said, adding that administrators are asking female students to not wear “the short shorts that are too revealing for school but might be OK for summer at home.”
However, students outside Downers Grove south when school released on Friday don’t think it’s fair.
Some complained that retailers don’t sell the conservative clothing the school is telling them to wear. Still others said it’s anybody’s guess who gets busted.
“Half get caught, half don’t,” said Eva Rzeszutko, 17, who is a senior.
But Rzeszutko had a bigger gripe than who gets caught and who doesn’t.
“It’s dumb because girls in cheerleading are wearing skirts that are even shorter, and they are representing the school,” she said.
Kell Worazek, also 17 and also a senior, said the new enforcement of old rules is more punitive to females than to males.
“They’ll yell in the hallway at boys,” if their underwear is showing. Girls, however, get a trip to the office.
Chuck Hiscock, associate principal at Downers Grove North, said he was aware that Downers Grove South was cracking down but that at his school things were the same as always.
“We try to be tough every year and there’s nothing different this year,” Hiscock said. “We try to get them early.”
@EllaRN, if you’re going to attack someone’s ability to spell so militantly, don’t spell ridiculous wrong, and spelling is not the defining factor in intelligence. Anyways, I in no way think that it is appropriate for students to dress with their underwear or cleavage showing excessively, and when I went to South, I saw many students bending these rules; however, from another article I have read about this, approximately 200 students a day are being sent to the dean’s office, and in some cases having to wait up to 4 periods, or half of the day, for someone to bring them another set of clothing. Now, I’m not saying these students should go unpunished but this takes away from their education which you all agree is of the utmost importance. I feel that in such a large school, it is difficult to constantly enforce these rules so strictly, and that administration’s time could be better spent elsewhere. The dress code has not changed any, and as it lies I feel it is appropriate for a learning environment, but I don’t feel there was a lot wrong with the way in which it was previously enforced given the amount of students which have to be monitored, especially when there are much more important rules to be enforced which affect the safety of students.
I graduated from DGS in 1971, and to see the school enforce dress code is a good thing. For students to wear sexually explicit attire, distracts from the main goal of going to school. Knowledge goes out the window and replaced with “how hot” the guy/girl looks sitting next to them. It also becomes a social distraction when then only thing on the minds of the students is where he or she bought their outfits. It opens the door for sexually related crimes at the school. Kudo’s to the principle, but enforce the rule for everyone and not just for the few…
I graduated from DGS in 1970. We were the new thinking generation and I remember girls wearing short skirts, short shorts, and tight shirts. I personally wore a wife beater T shirt to school most days in the summer. This reminds me that everyone was worried about our hair length, our clothing, and our attitudes. Most of the comments I have read seam like they were written by the old farts who ran the schools when I was young. Let the kids wear what they want. If the guys want to show their underwear let them. If the girls want to wear short pants let them. Concentrate on their minds not the way they look.
In other news: Old people think their kids music is too loud, and that the songs on the radio were better when they were kids….
honestly, dress codes at schools that students don’t approve of is news? wow – what a wonderful world we live in that this is worth writing about. Come on, TribLocal…. use journalism skills and find news.
The starting point should be teacher and administrator dress. It should be immediately possible to identify a teacher or administrator by dress; sometimes I cannot tell a teacher from a student. Male teachers should be encouraged to wear ties and jackets, and collard dress shirts should be a requirement. I am a little less familiar with women’s wear, but a similar level of formality is what should be encouraged and suggested. Downers Grove can match the best schools in the nation and they should dress accordingly!
@student101 – Without realizing it, you’ve helped define the problem. What YOU see as acceptable probably isn’t. The school tried to let students define what is and is not acceptable dress, but it sounds like the students don’t understand what’s appropriate and what’s not.
Don’t be surprised if your fellow students have some better judgment imposed on them.
And the comments about your spelling are well advised. Worry less about your clothes and more about your education. Be glad your school doesn’t require a uniform as some other schools in your conference do.
And it’s SUPPOSEDLY, not supposibly.
@Rusty1, yes, I AM correct. Kids don’t wear the uniform 24×7; they will change into what is comfortable when they get home. You must not have girls at home.
One more thing to consider…in the end, my kids really appreciated not having to decide what to wear to school each day. Just put on the same pants and polo shirt each day (hopefully a clean set).
@JRubes, your statement about uniforms being an additional financial burden is incorrect. While you do have to buy uniform pants and shirts upfront, you save on your student’s overall clothing budget. The cost of upkeep to the rest of the student’s wardrobe drops dramatically. School is no longer the fashion show that many, many students turn it into.
You are what you wear.
Typical teen, blaming the stores.
Last time I looked, there’s plenty of t-shirts in the stores.
I was at Jewel last week and this beautiful little girl was wearing short shorts that were sooo short her ass cheeks were sticking out. She was young and didn’t need to reveal her-self to catch attention. These are the ones that then complain when boys look at them in the areas where they shouldn’t be staring at. When I went to school, girls wore grunge and flannels. I don’t believe in uniforms unless you want your children to go to a private school. That’s the reason I chose a public school when my parents asked me which I’d rather go to. This year I’ve heard about silly bands being banned and dress codes and I remember when it was certain colors you wore at school you had to worry about. Silly bands are not a distraction in school. Short shorts just like the 70′s are a distraction at school and should be left outside the school. I’m an artist and I’m all about freedom of speech and what you wear but parents should have enough common sense to see what their children are wearing before they get on the bus. If you have it flaunt it and if you don’t please cover yourself but know when and were it’s appropriate. I guess I just have to remember that were all gonna push the limits no matter what era we are in.
It is the job of the parents to watch what their kids wear to school. I had no problem whatsoever calling the attention of my 3 girl’s dress/attire. School admins are there for catching kids who “re-dress” on their way to school. Yes, it does happen.
Oh, and school uniforms isn’t the answer. It only causes an additional financial burden to the parents. Unless, of course, IL taxpayers are willing to pay the bill for others.
@Student101….your spelling is deplorable! Perhaps you should concentrate on your education instead of defending those who are breaking the rules. Here is a clue, when you have countless spelling errors, your credibility suffers. Did you ever think that school administration is trying to prepare you for the real world where appropriate attire is required at a JOB? School is your JOB, and students should be dressed respectfully and ready to learn. Follow the rules, and there won’t be a problem. Boo hoo hoo….freshman girls crying and upset. YOU are not the judge of what is appropriate or what is ridiculious. How about school uniforms next year? Sounds like a good idea doesn’t it?
“not aloud”?
Downers Grove south is taking the dress code to a whole new level. The outfits that these “darlings” are wearing are in no way revealing. Walk through the hallways and everyone looks appropriate. On the first day of school over 200 girls got sent down to the deans office. Having many new freshman students in tears. Deans are circling the hallways and they are sending the new cop around the lunch room to check for too short of shorts. Its becoming a bit ridiculous. I understand if to much is showing or if cleveage is hanging out, but in the first week i have not once seen one pair of shorts that reveals to much. If norths restrictions are not as strict, ours shouldn’t be either since were suppost to be “equal” to DGN. Cheerleaders are no longer aloud to wear their uniforms on fridays, girls are scared to wear shorts, and supposibly we will be getting introuble for wearing yoga work out pants. Whats next? The students are having the time of their lives trying to rebel against this ridiculous new policy!!
All the little darlings need to learn that there are going to be rues they have to follow whne they are in the real world. I especially like the comment that retailes don’t sell conservative clothing. Maybe if tye would consider themselves young adults, the whiners would shop accordingly. What they wear on their own time is fine, but their role as a student should dictate who they are dresses. The only more inane than the way some of them dress is that the parents allow it.
Even with a ‘uniform’ the students still push the limits. Guys wear baggy pants hanging off their butts; shirts are never tucked in.
Girls wear pants so tight they look like they’re a coat of paint; midriffs showing; plenty of cleavage.
All those things are supposedly ‘outlawed’ by the new uniform rules.
Dress codes are like dams on a river. They hold the water back to a point, but the water always finds a way to flow around it.
Okay so skimpy outfits aren’t allowed at school. These kids better realize that the next step will be shorts and “school” uniform. Our schools require the same T-shirt and a lanyard with picture ID to be worn by EVERYONE. Its easier.